In January 1674, the Plymouth Colony arrested three Wampanoag, Tobias, Wampapaquan, and Mattashanamo, for the murder of a Christianized and English-educated Wampanoag John Sassamon, "by laying violent hands on him and striking him, or twisting his necke, untill hee was dead."  Tobias, one of the accused murderers, served Philip in what was essentially a "Secretary of State" role.  The Wampanoag viewed the killing of an Indian by other Indians was an internal Wampanoag matter outside of English jurisdiction.  Plymouth felt that because John Sassamon had been Christianized, they had jurisdiction in the matter.  The Plymouth Colony realized the trial could be very explosive, but felt that justice needed to be served.  To make the trial "fair", they appointed six Indians to the regular jury of Englishmen hearing the case.  All six of the Indians voted for guilty, as did the English jurors.  Tobias and Mattashanamo were hanged on 8 June 1675, and Wampapaquan was reprieved for an unspecified reason but was shot to death within a month.

Unrest among the Wampanoag against the Plymouth Colony quickly spread after the hangings, as they felt their own authority usurped when Englishmen put Wampanoag on trial for killing other Wampanoag.  Metacomet ("Philip") began to collect and arm members of his band, and began to talk with allies around the region about expelling the English from America once and for all.  On June 18 and 19, a few of Metacomet's band raided the house of Job Winslow, and on June 20 and 23 they burned a few houses south of Swansea.  When a small group was setting fire to a house in Swansea, an Englishman caught three Indians running away and instructed his boy to shoot them; he hit one of them in the back  He was not killed instantly, but fled and died later that day.  A group of Indians returned to the fort and informed them that the shot Indian had died, and asked why he had been shot in the back while fleeing.  The boy who had shot him replied callously "it was no matter."  Several other English around tried to convince the Indians it was not a callous shooting, but the damage had already been done.  The Indians returned the next day and killed the boy, his father, and five others.  A conflicting account also says the boy's mother was raped and scalped, but this appears not to be the case as she appears in later town records still alive.

King Philip's War of 1675-1676 is what followed in the aftermath.  Massachusetts Bay Colony came quickly to the aid of Plymouth after they failed at a diplomatic solution with Metacomet.  Metacomet quickly destroyed the town of Dartmouth, forced the evacuation of Middleboro , and then his group fled to central Massachusetts where they continued to raid, attack, and burn villages while gaining additional allies.  The Massachusetts Bay Colony was worried the Narragansett might ally themselves with "King Philip", so they made a military offensive (a preemptive strike) against them--which only had the effect of pushing the Narragansett into the very alliance they were trying to prevent in the first place.  The Mohegans and a small band of Niantics led by Ninigret sided with the English in the war, but most other Native American groups in the region allied themselves (in name, if not in action) with Metacomet.  

The Plymouth colonists reacted strongly, and in August 1675 it was declared that 112 captured Indians would be sold into servitude, setting a precedent for later prisoners of war.  Most would get sold to sea captains who in turn sold them in the West Indies to serve on sugar plantations.  In December, the English organized their troops and on December 19 engaged in a battle known as the Great Swamp Fight, in which many Narragansett were killed and their supply chain blocked.  Indian raids did not stop, however, and in fact started coming closer to major towns, including an attack on the town of Scituate.  Three miles south of Plymouth, one Indian raid killed Mrs. William Clarke.  The Plymouth Court managed to catch and execute the perpetrators of the attack after their identities were revealed by an Indian woman.

The English were losing the war, however.  The men were constantly occupied trying to protect their towns from the raids that they did not have time to farm their fields.  Many did not want to leave their families to join the volunteer army, because that would leave the wife and children unprotected.  Because not enough signed up for the volunteer armies, some had to be pressed into service.  Many refused to serve, and were fined £8.  

On March 26, 1676, the Plymouth Company (about sixty-five volunteers) and several Indian guides under command of Michael Pierce encountered a band of Narragansett numbering nearly 1,000 on the Pawtucket river, and were routed (only a few survived to make it back to Plymouth).  By April, the Plymouth Colony was at its lowest point.  It tried but failed to organize another company of 300 men--many soldiers pressed into service refused to show up.  However, their fortunes in war were slowly beginning to change.

The Indians who had been waging war on the English were also finding themselves in need of food and supplies.  Their allies were never fully unified, and the various groups were often fighting for different aims and goals.  As planting and harvest seasons approached, many of Metacomet's allies pulled out to concentrate more fully on producing much needed food supplies.  The English were also beginning to better understand the unfamiliar war tactics used by the Indians, and slowly learning how to counter and defend themselves.  

The English also had Native American groups as allies, and in desperation became more willing to rely on help from these groups.  Plymouth's new Captain, Benjamin Church, had long been friends with many of the Native Americans prior to the war, and in many instances he was able to quickly convert Indians over to his side.  In a highly unusual tactic in the history of warfare, Captain Church managed to turn many of his prisoners of war into additional troops willing to fight for him (the Indians who changed sides and fought faithfully would be considered allies, and would not be sold into slavery like the other prisoners--a useful incentive).  

Captain Church succeeded in persuading many Native American groups to give up their alliance with Metacomet's group.  Many of the Native American groups which wanted Plymouth's favor (so they would not be sold into slavery as prisoners of war) offered to fight on Plymouth's side until the war was ended.  By August 1676 the only significant group of Native Americans still at war was the small group led by "King Philip" himself.  And that group spent most of its time simply fleeing from the pursuing Captain Church.  Hiding out on Mount Hope, a deserter from Metacomet's group alerted Captain Church to his whereabouts.  Captain Church surrounded the camp so that Metacomet had nowhere to flee.  Metacomet was forced out, and ran towards two of Church's troops, one an Englishman (possibly Caleb Cooke) and the other an Indian.  According to Captain Chruch's written account, the Englishman fired and missed, and the Indian fired and killed Metacomet.  A few days later, Annawon, one of Metacom's chief men, was also captured, and the war was over.

On 22 July 1676, the Council of War ordered the magistrates to put the children of the prisoners of war into servitude (i.e. slavery until age 25, when the person was freed).  Volunteer soldiers who captured Indians were allowed to sell half of them as slaves for their own profit.  No Indian male over age 14 was allowed to remain in the Plymouth Colony (to prevent further revolts), but instead had to be sold into slavery to outsiders only.  A very small number of prisoners (such as Annawon) were tried and executed.  Soldiers who had faithfully volunteered were rewarded with large land grants.  Indian lands belonging to those captured groups were taken over, including what is now Mount Hope and Bristol.  

The war cost Plymouth a large amount of money.  Colony taxes from 1675 to 1676 went up 2700%.  Donations from as far away as Ireland came in to help the Plymouth Colony restore buildings and towns that had been burned.  The war also cost the Plymouth Colony well over 100 lives.  For the Native Americans, the war cost hundreds of lives and most of their land. 

Today, there are about 5000 Wampanoag living primarily in Massachusetts.

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